I Don’t Have Insurance, But Have Medical Bills To Pay!

You’re young. You’re healthy. And then out of nowhere you’re faced with a medical emergency, spend some time in the hospital, and are now forced with astronomical medical bills to pay.

What Now?

First things first: don’t get discouraged. It would be easy to stash away your medical bills in a drawer or sit them far back on a shelf to collect dust, but the fact is that these bills won’t disappear. And most importantly, you are much, much more likely to receive financial assistance if you work with the provider before the bill is sent to a collection agency.

Luckily, there are many steps that you can take to help your situation and potentially even lower your outstanding bills!

Step One: Write a Letter of Hardship to the Provider

It’s important to keep in mind that hospitals are well aware that paying medical bills without insurance can be extremely difficult, so generally they will work with you to find a reasonable way to help you pay off your debt, and can even help lower the overall amount that you owe. Of course, all of these great things can’t happen if you don’t ask. This is where a letter of hardship can help save the day.

If you genuinely have no means to pay the medical bills that you now owe, it would be in your best interest to write a letter to the provider letting them know of your situation and your inability to pay. Be sure to include the fact that you are an international student, unfamiliar with the US healthcare system, and any additional information that could help your case. Depending on the amount owed and your personal situation, a provider may write off a good portion, specific services, or even your entire bill! If you don’t receive a response to your letter within a few weeks, be sure to follow-up with a phone call to reconfirm your situation.Of course this isn’t a guarantee, but it’s worth your time to try!

Tip: At the end of the day, it’s important to keep in mind that hospitals are still businesses and they want to be paid for their services – even if it’s not the whole amount that is owed.

Step Two: Ensure that your Bills Are Correct

This step can be time consuming, but it’s worth every moment. It’s especially important to check your bills if you spent a long period in the hospital or had a complicated procedure, as it is possible that a portion of the bill that you’ve received isn’t right. The most common errors tend to be that you’ve been billed for services or medications that you didn’t actually receive. Take into consideration the time that you stayed in the hospital as well. Sometimes if you’ve checked out in the morning you could have been charged for a full day, adding thousands of dollars to your bill.

Tip: According to the Medical Billing Advocates of America, eight in 10 hospital bills include mistakes.

Step Three: Prepare to Negotiate

It’s important to note that theUS healthcare system is setup for individuals to have health insurance. Without insurance you will be paying a substantial amount more for the medical treatment that you receive, compared to someone who does have insurance and receives deep in-network discounts. If a letter of distress to the provider doesn’t lower your bill enough, or at all, the next step is to try to negotiate.

As mentioned before, providers want to get paid – even if they don’t receive as much as they’ve billed you for, so you likely have some room to negotiate at least a small portion of the amount that you owe. In order to do so, it’s important that you are armed with information to help your cause. Check nearby hospitals to discern how much they would have charged for the procedure that you had. If the provider that you visited is charging grossly more, this could be a good negotiating point!

Regardless if you were able to negotiate a lower overall balance or not, providers know that a huge medical bill broken down into small, manageable payments is much more likely to be paid off, so call the provider and ask if they can set up an interest free payment plan. It’s important to speak to the right person and let them know of your situation, and that you’re trying to pay off your debt but lack the income to do so right away.

Tip: Keep in mind that someone who is simply sympathetic to your situation can’t help you – be sure to speak to someone higher up in the billing department directly for the most assistance.

The bottom line is that medical emergencies are never planned, but are always costly. Luckily for you, there are countless resources available to help you negotiate and even lower your bill, as well as set up payment plans. Don’t let your bills overwhelm you. As dim as the situation may seem, you can work your way out of it!

Sutherland joined the team in early 2014 after receiving her Bachelor’s degree in Public Relations from the University of North Florida. She has had the opportunity to travel extensively throughout Europe, which instilled an unwavering passion of international travel. This, combined with her strong interest in Marketing, led her to join the Envisage team.

23 thoughts on “I Don’t Have Insurance, But Have Medical Bills To Pay!”

Thank you for visiting our blog! Our insurance plans are designed to cover students and travelers outside of their home country, so it will offer coverage in the United States and around the world. I will send you an email to get more information so we can suggest the best insurance plan for you.

I am an international student on my OPT. I had a different health insurance but my health insurance had expired 2 days before I got injured. I made sure to renew the insurance before I went to the hospital. Unfortunately, the new insurance coverage was going to be effective from the next day. I had to get a couple of surgeries for a rare medical condition. Now the insurance company is denying the claims saying that the injury/accident did not happen when I had the insurance and instead happened during lapse of coverage. Is the insurance company allowed to deny the claim? What are my options now? The medical bills are really high and I won’t be able to pay them off.

Thanks for your comment and I’m sorry to hear that. Unfortunately, we are not able to help you with your question since we don’t know how your insurance works. Your questions are better directed to them. Generally, claims will be approved or denied by your insurance based on your coverage. Read through your policy documents and you may be able to find some answers there. You may also contact the hospital and explain your situation to them.

Thanks for your blog comment. Your question is better directed to your insurance company. Generally, insurances will only cover conditions that happen after the effective start date of your policy but it wouldn’t be a bad idea to confirm that with yours.

Hi
I am currently in OPT and looking for health insurance in USA. I am confused which company should i deal with. I am wondering why we have to pay all the insurance amount full at a time. Is there any option so that i can make payment in 2-3 installment. I am looking for job so i cant afford that muchmoney now. If you can help me it would be fine.

The Student Secure is an excellent plan option for international students studying inside the USA. You are eligible for this plan during your OPT period, as long as you maintain a valid F1 visa. The plan comes in four levels Smart, Budget, Select and Elite and offers inpatient and outpatient medical coverage up to $200,000 (smart), $250,000 (budget), $300,000 (select) or $500,000 (elite).

It is available with a daily or monthly rate, and monthly payment options – allowing you the flexibility to purchase the coverage you need.

*For students inside the US, aged 25-30, the pricing is as follows:*
* Smart – $2.10 per day or $64 a month
* Budget – $2.47 per day or $75 a month
* Select – $6.15 per day or $187 a month
* Elite – $8.61 per day or $262 a month

Please also note, there is an additional $5 monthly administrative fee added if you choose to pay your plan monthly.

You can apply directly online through our website, and receive instant confirmation by email at:

If a student does not have insurance is there a funding source such as a grant that will pay Physicians services provided to International Students? Can Physicians get a tax break by offering care free to International students.

Thanks for your blog comment! In the US, there is no government assistance or universal healthcare program if you have medical bills. You will be responsible for your medical care and this is why it is important to have a health insurance plan with sufficient coverage. Also, many schools have a Student Health Center that offer low cost or even free physical exams for their students but it varies. We would recommend checking with your school.

For your second question, unfortunately, we can only assist you with your health insurance needs. For tax related questions, please contact a tax expert.

I didn’t have insurance coverage all of 2016 because my job didn’t offer it and I couldn’t afford it on the side. Something occurred where I had to go to the hospital and got 9 stiches to my ear, had a cat scan done and other test’s that summoned up to a cost of $9,500. Now that I have insurance, is there a way someone can help me lower that cost?

Unfortunately, if you did not have insurance at the time of your hospital visit, then this would be something you would need to pay out of pocket. This blog has great tips in the event that you do have to pay if you did not have insurance or a covered visit. Check nearby hospitals to discern how much they would have charged for the procedure that you had. If the provider that you visited is charging grossly more, this could be a good negotiating point! You can get information on how much providers charge for given treatments from a variety of websites, including Clear Health Cost and Healthcare Blue Book.

Thanks for your comment. Unfortunately, many insurance plans will not pay for medical bills for accidents that have occurred prior to having insurance. I apologize for the inconvenience. I would recommend talking to the hospital and seeing if you can negotiate a payment plan for your bills.

Hi,
I would like an advice on my issue. I received a bill for a doctor from Mount Sinai Hospital, I wasn’t supposed to receive it because I was having insurance but they changed my plan at the time I was visiting that doctor and I didn’t know about it, so I didn’t take any actions because I thought that they would bill me again later when I renewed my membership. So I don’t know what to do cause they didn’t bill the insurance and I got a Final Notice.

Thanks for your comment. I would recommend contacting your insurance company and asking them about the coverage you have. If your insurance was active during your visit to the doctor, they will be able to assist you with billing questions. You can also contact the hospital billing department and ask them for an extension while you contact your insurance company.

Hi! I just found this post you wrote a year ago. I am desperate. I came to US as a tourist vising my girl friend in Minneapolis during the last holidays without an insurance effective in US. On January 1, the kidney stones I never knew exist decided to move down and caused a pain that sent me to a local hospital. After some blood and urine test, and an ultrasound exam, I was told to buy pain killers and let the kidney stones to release by themselves. A month later my gf (now exgf) received a medical bill of 2300 USD (with a 50% non-insurance discount). Since I spent my whole year’s saving on the trip during holidays, I don’t have any money left. So I called HealthEast whose number is on the bill to see if I can have a discount. Instead of working out a solution with me, their accounting supervisor decided I am not supposed to have that 50% discount and need to pay the full price of 4551 USD within a month. I even filled a complaint form at MN attorney general office’s website, but nothing happens. I am not familiar with American medical system. But I do want to pay within my ability for the diagnosis I got. Is there anything else I can do?

Thanks for your comment. Unfortunately, if you didn’t have adequate medical insurance at the time of your visit, you will be responsible for the medical bill, even if you weren’t aware of your medical condition. I would recommend contacting the hospital again, as it is completely up to them how they wish to charge for services provided to you. It is possible that you can set up a payment plan with them.

In the US, there is no universal healthcare or government assistance to pay for medical bills. This is why it is important to have a travel medical insurance.